“Big-time QB!” someone else shouts.
Sully looks happy to have the conversation diverted from him so that he can focus loading up his own plate. I lean into his side until he turns his gaze to me.
“I didn’t know this was your lastlastyear.”
Sully chuckles. “I kind of told you earlier. I just want something else, too tired to keep putting my body through all the demands of the game. Want something else now.”
“A family?” I whisper, mouth suddenly dry.
Sully’s eyes sparkle and he goes back to his plate of food. The food is delicious as usual, but my brain can’t focus on it. All I can think about is the solid weight of Sully beside me, the weightof his future that he so badly wants to control, and about all the pressure I put on myself that’s never been necessary. A mess of my own making.
The stars come out as the dinner goes on, wine flows, and laughter fills the air. Two glasses of wine have me feeling just a little warm, enough so that I lean my head against Sully’s shoulder as he carries on a conversation across the table. His fingers draw dizzying loops against my biceps and my eyes fall closed at the tender touch. Oh, to be touched with loving intent after so many years of no touch at all.
“Tate?” Sully whispers against my ear.
“Hmm?”
“Let’s go upstairs.”
Sully manhandles me to standing, then tugs me inside without any argument from me. The lighting is dim as we ascend the stairs, navigating away from my room on the second floor, instead taking the three flights up to his room. I’ve not been in here yet. Something inside me cracks and reforms when Sully’s hand shakes as he opens his bedroom door. Placing my hand over his, I finish pushing the door open, tugging him inside by our still joined hands.
“Sully,” I whisper softly between us. Moonlight slashes across Sully’s face, and I notice for the first time that the wrinkles beside his eyes are deeper than usual. He looks sad, no, not sad, he looks distraught. “Sully,” I say again just before wrapping him up in my arms.
His arms curl around me as he tugs me against his body. I let him hold me, knowing that he needs the comfort that my body oddly gives him.
“You feel so right in my arms,” Sully admits, tone defeated.
I squeeze my eyes shut at his painful words. Oh. This is no good. I navigate through the dark room, push Sully onto the bed, and go about undressing him. My fingers trail the bare skinthat appears as I lift his shirt up. His breath stutters out of him, making me puff up with pride that I could have such an effect on this beautiful man. When I start to unbuckle his pants, his hands come up to grab mine.
“Not tonight,” Sully pleads, as if afraid not wanting sex will put a stop to our evening. My sweet man.
I leave one hand on his belt buckle, then use the other to brush the hair from his eyes. “Alright, baby. Alright.”
Sully closes his eyes tight as I continue to undress him. I press a soft kiss to his strong thigh, smiling when the muscle bunches beneath my lips. Once he’s left in just his boxer briefs, I hurriedly undress myself, and join him in the bed. I wiggle under the covers until he follows, then tug the covers over our heads so we're in a world of our own.
“When I was a little boy, I was convinced aliens were going to abduct me in my sleep.”
Sully is frozen for one solid moment, before laughter shakes his entire body. His hand raises to wrap around my neck and he presses his forehead to mine. “Why would you be worried about that of all things?”
“I watched this weird alien movie with my grandma and it just scared me shitless. I didn’t sleep but for a few hours for a solid year.” I laugh at the memory. “Even now I don’t like to watch alien movies. The universe is so big…”
“Why would they want to abduct you of all people?”
I snort and pinch his side, laughing when he wiggles closer. “I’m extremely smart. They’ll want to experiment on me and dissect my brain.”
“Definitely,” Sully quickly agrees. He looks thoughtful for a moment, the creases around his eyes deepening. “I have an irrational fear of rabbits.”
“Not irrational. They have sharp teeth.”
Sully groans. “You’re not supposed to make itworse.”
I lean forward to kiss him because I need to taste his smile, taste his laugh. Sully’s big hand presses against the small of my back, tugging me close enough that I forget where his body ends and mine begins. Rubbing my bare foot along his calf, I tangle my fingers in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Time feels suspended in Sully’s arms. I wonder what would’ve happened had I found him back in Portland. Would I have even given him a shot? Would I have let myself miss out on this perfect man that somehow sees me for me, wants me for me? I wish distance wasn’t such a large divide. It’s so easy to imagine a future unfurling before us as we date, discover each other, find out if we’re as good of a match as Tuscany has made us feel.
Sully’s lips slow, his body growing heavier against me. I kiss him until his eyes stay shut, until I’ve realized he’s fallen asleep in my arms. My sweet Sully. The temperature is too warm under the covers, so I toss them off of us. Sully tugs me closer to him in his sleep, needing me close even in his dreams. I trail my fingers over his slight beard. He looks good with it, and I like the way it feels against my skin as he kisses me. Gives him a little bit of protection against beard burn from kissing me, too.
The damn scar between his eyebrows gnaws at me, bringing some emotion to the surface that I’m not sure I can name. Maybe protectiveness, maybe anger that someone could treat little Sully with anything but tender care. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. All I know is that Sully is safe in my arms tonight, safe in my bed, and safe in my care.
Sully is still asleep when I wake up the next morning. I kiss his cheeks, kiss his closed eyes, kiss his nose, kiss him anywhere I can reach until his eyes are blinking open. A sleepy smile tilts hislips up as he tugs me closer to him. I tuck my head into his neck as we cuddle under the warm light of morning. He smells like sleep and warmth, like everything good that he embodies.
